After the two men completed the formalities, Zhao Xin sat on the stone chair wearing a dragon robe.
"Sir, the first question I would like to ask you is about money."
Zhao Xin paused, then added, "Those who know the Prime Minister respect him as a deity."
"May I ask, Prime Minister, how can a man rise to prominence, and how can a woman, stunningly beautiful as a queen, marry into a wealthy family and live a happy life?"
After hearing Zhao Xin's question, Zhuge Liang said, "Your Majesty, the two things you mentioned are what people all over the world are pursuing."
"Every man hopes to achieve success, and every woman longs to be admired and to be able to entrust her life to a reliable man."
"But in fact, a man doesn't necessarily need to be successful, and a woman doesn't necessarily need to live a life of luxury."
Zhao Xin listened and said, "Oh? I'd like to hear your advice, Prime Minister."
"There's another reason why men want to achieve success: they want a happy and fulfilling life."
"Besides my own desire for success, I also hope that I can ultimately be successful in my life and have no regrets."
"To pursue success, the principle is actually very simple: just put in the effort and work hard."
"Give it your all, take risks, endure hardships, and work hard, even if you can't become world-famous."
"It's not difficult to have a decent set of clothes, enough money in your pocket, and enough food to survive."
"But there is one thing that will be more difficult than achieving fame and success."
Zhao Xin continued to ask, "What is it?"
“The human heart, happiness and joy.”
"Your Majesty, I went to the historian today and read the records before your rise to power."
"Your Majesty, please think about where your happiness at that time came from. Was it happiness?"
Zhao Xin recalled his situation before he traveled through time. He could indeed be said to be a tyrant, obsessed with his harem, doing nothing, living a life of drunkenness and dreams, but he was living a different kind of happiness.
"Happy, I am ashamed to waste my time, but I enjoy the best."
Zhuge Liang nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty, it is natural. But that is because Your Majesty is the supreme ruler. As long as Your Majesty is here, these joys will be hard to lose."
"But... Your Majesty, you can enjoy all your blessings... Once your blessings are exhausted, it will be time to suffer the most."
"Your Majesty, please try to imagine that scene."
Zhao Xin nodded. He didn't quite know what Zhuge Liang was going to say, but he was Zhuge Liang, so he had to listen patiently.
“The most precious thing in this world is the sincerity of a person.”
"If you have one or more people who truly care about you, you will feel warm in your heart even before you die."
“Material bliss can never lift the frown of sorrow, but a sincere heart will smile even at the moment of death.”
"This is what I want to tell Your Majesty." Zhuge Liang paused and continued, "Money and material things, in most cases, can be obtained through hard work and plunder."
“But caring about someone is something that is hard to come by.”
"A man's life is truly complete only when he has these two things. If he only achieves success, in fact, at the moment of death, he will feel endless loneliness."
Zhao Xin understood Zhuge Liang's meaning. "You mean to say that being unrivaled in the world is not as good as having the support of the people, is that right?"
Zhuge Liang nodded: "Indeed, gaining the support of the people is the most difficult thing to obtain. As for rapid advancement, I have already told Your Majesty that this is actually not even as difficult as gaining a true heart."
"Success and fame are achieved through hard work, and rewards will follow. This is not a complicated issue."
"But if a man has one or more truly sincere hearts, that is the true fulfillment of life."
Zhao Xin thought of a person, King Zhou of Shang. These rumors were a bit nonsense. He remembered an allusion, Bigan digging out the heart.
King Zhou of Shang dug out Bigan's heart, but can we really blame King Zhou completely? I can even imagine the scene of Bigan giving advice.
Bigan was a loyal minister, but his loyalty was not necessarily to King Zhou, but more to the Shang Dynasty.
Every time he advised King Zhou, he didn't care about the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects. Even if he did some superficial work, he only regarded King Zhou of Shang as a foolish and tyrannical ruler. His advice didn't seem like advice, but more like an insult.
King Zhou, it cannot be said that he was a wise ruler of the world. He was more like a warrior.
However, Bigan never regarded King Zhou as a monarch. He had accumulated too much resentment and anger, and a tyrant would naturally use tyrannical methods.
In other words, although Bi Gan seemed very loyal, and he was indeed very loyal, King Zhou felt only coldness. It was more like he was scolding me for being useless and for not being able to govern the world.
This allusion, speaking of a sincere heart, suddenly came to my mind.
King Zhou was a bit like what Zhuge Liang said. He was in a desperate situation where he was betrayed by his friends and relatives. He had no support from his friends, and no one had any hope for him and the Shang Dynasty anymore.
But it seems that King Zhou might not be as wrong as the rumors say.
Zhuge Liang saw Zhao Xin lost in thought and knew he understood his point. "So, it's not difficult for a person to have a successful life and achieve fame and honor. Even if you can't be the best in the world, you can still have enough material wealth to stand on your own feet."
“But no matter how much material wealth one has, if all around him is cold, he is still miserable and his life is still a failure.”
“After death, the last moment is also filled with endless emptiness.”
"Your Majesty has always emphasized rapid advancement. This is actually not difficult. God rewards hard work. This is even simple."
“What I want to emphasize is that for a person, one or more truly sincere hearts are the most precious.”
“This is how life can be happy and fulfilling.”
After Zhao Xin finished listening, he asked, "What do you think of that woman's life?"
"Your Majesty...why do you ask me such a question?" Zhuge Liang said.
"Sir, don't you know almost everything? I have so many questions I want to ask you."
Zhuge Liang actually felt a little embarrassed. Generally, emperors did not pay attention to military and national affairs. Why was this emperor asking these questions for the first time?
Zhao Xin added, "The entire Great Qin is now basically pacified. Although there seems to be trouble, nothing will happen here as long as I am safe."
"I know you are here, Prime Minister. All important military and political matters can be handed over to you."
"So now I am not worried about these problems. I just want to know how the lives of ordinary people should go."
After listening to this, Zhuge Liang calmed down. After all, he had seen a lot and could immediately understand Zhao Xin's feelings. Zhao Xin wanted to ask him about all the questions he had.
Today I am asking you about these small things. In the future, you will ask me about big and small things, and I will just answer them one by one.
Zhuge Liang was a little surprised why Zhao Xin asked these questions. It seemed that he understood his general situation and knew that he could answer many of his confusions.
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